If there are increasing questions about how far the Seahawks can go with Sam Darnold, what there won’t be are questions about how far the team will go to back him.
That was made abundantly clear by Ernest Jones IV’s NSFW proclamation after Sunday’s 21-19 loss to the Rams, and by coach Mike Macdonald’s more traditionally stated, but still pointed, statement of support, as well.
“Keep ripping it, man,” Macdonald said of his message to Darnold after his four-interception game against the Rams. “We love you and we got your back.”
That doesn’t mean there aren’t other questions to address in the wake of a loss that knocked the Seahawks out of a tie for first place in the NFC West at 7-3 and put the Rams into sole possession of the top spot at 8-2.
Let’s look at where things stand now for the Seahawks and what the next few weeks look like and give some historical context to Darnold’s trunover-riddled day in this week’s Four Downs with beat reporter Bob Condotta.
read more rams 21, seahawks 19
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold puts his hands on his knees after throwing his third interception of the game during the third quarter Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025 in Inglewood, CA. 231552
What does the Seahawks’ postseason picture look like now?
If the season ended today, the Seahawks would have the five seed and play No. 4 seed Tampa Bay in the wild card round.
Long trip but a fun rematch, to be sure.
The rest of the NFC picture looks like this: 1. Eagles (bye); 7 seed 49ers at 2 seed Rams; and 6 seed Packers at 3 seed Bears. On the outside looking in are the 6-4 Detroit Lions.
The loss didn’t put much of a dent into the Seahawks’ postseason odds, which are still at 91%, via The Athletic’s Playoff Simulator. Those are the third-highest in the NFC behind only the 8-2 Eagles and Rams, each at 99%.
The Seahawks’ odds of winning the division have taken a hit, from 26% two weeks ago to 11% now.
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Their odds of getting the top seed are 5%, below those of winning the Super Bowl, which are 6%.
Their low division odds are obviously because of needing to beat the Rams in Seattle on Dec. 18 to have a chance at winning any tiebreakers against L.A.
The Seahawks are in decent shape with other tiebreakers.
Division record is the first tiebreaker following head-to-head, followed by record in common games and record in conference games.
The Rams are 2-1 in the division and 3-2 in conference, while the Seahawks are 2-2 and 4-3. They can square those by beating the Rams and winning the rest of its NFC games.
The Rams are 5-1 in games against common opponents while Seattle is 3-1.
A big game in that regard is Tampa Bay’s trip to L.A. this Sunday — an NFC team that beat the Seahawks earlier this season — while Seattle is playing at AFC foe Tennessee.
Speaking of schedules, it’s good news for the Seahawks, right?
It is for the next few weeks, yes.
The Seahawks’ next three games are Sunday at 1-9 Tennessee — a game in which the Seahawks are listed as a 12.5-point favorite; at home against the 4-6 Vikings; and at 3-7 Atlanta, which announced Monday that former UW standout quarterback Michael Penix Jr. is out for the year with an ACL injury, meaning Kirk Cousins is again starting.
The Rams will host Tampa Bay, play at Carolina and at Arizona.
The 49ers, who at 7-4 and getting healthy are hovering ominously, host the Panthers on Sunday, play at the Browns and have their bye and host the Titans in Week 15. So 10-4 is realistic for the 49ers heading into mid-December.
As may be obvious, all three teams will likely be favored to win all of their games the next three weeks before Week 15 when the Seahawks host the 8-2 Colts while the Rams host the Lions before Seattle and L.A. meet again on Dec. 18 at Lumen Field.
Can you give some more context to Darnold’s interceptions?
Sure. We’ll start with the troublesome.
While Darnold has a 21-6 record as a starter since the beginning of the 2024 season he has thrown 22 interceptions and lost eight fumbles in that span. His 30 total turnovers are the most in the NFL since 2024.
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The Seahawks have 20 turnovers as a team, two more than second-place Minnesota.
Darnold’s four picks Sunday tied his career high, set twice during his tenure with the Jets. The most recent was a 2019 game against the Patriots, a 33-0 loss in which Darnold was infamously caught on the sidelines saying he was “seeing ghosts.”
Only seven times in the team’s 786-game history have the Seahawks suffered more interceptions.
The record is six, which has happened twice — Dave Krieg threw five and Jim Zorn added one in a loss at Kansas City in 1984; and Zorn with six in a loss to Lions in 1985.
The Seahawks’ had five on five occasions, most recently by Russell Wilson in a 38-10 loss at Green Bay in 2016.
In Wilson’s defense, two of the picks were deflected and another was a Hail Mary at the end of the first half.
The Seahawks lost all seven of those games.
They have had 20 games with four interceptions, including Sunday’s. The most recent was by Wilson in the memorable 2015 NFC title game win over the Packers (but other than the two games mentioned here, Wilson never had more than three picks in a game and did that only five times in 158 career starts with the Seahawks).
That improbable NFC title game comeback victory is one of only two times the Seahawks won a game with four interceptions.
The other was a 19-7 home win over the Chiefs in 1990 a game in which Kansas City evened things out by losing three fumbles. Krieg threw all four picks in that game, including on consecutive passes in the second quarter.
And for anyone wondering, Geno Smith has never thrown more than three interceptions in a game. He’s done that five times in 92 career starts, including tossing three in a 26-20 overtime loss to the Rams at Lumen Field last Nov. 3.
One was as pick six by then-rookie Kamren Kinchens, who had two that day and got two against Darnold on Sunday and has four of his six career interceptions against the Seahawks.
That was the only time Smith threw more than two picks in 52 starts with the Seahawks.
Any silver lining to share?
Sure. If you want some good news, bad interception games can happen to the best of them.
Tom Brady four interceptions in a game six times in his career in 333 career starts, though never after the 2011 season.
Peyton Manning threw six picks in a game in 2007 (a 23-21 loss to the Chargers) and threw four in five other games in 265 career starts.
Even Joe Montana, whose work with Bill Walsh and the West Coast offense helped herald in the era of quicker passing and leading to fewer turnovers, once threw four picks in a game, albeit in a 23-17 win over the Bengals in 1984, a year the 49ers went 15-1 and won the Super Bowl.
So it does happen.
The Seahawks just need it to not happen again anytime soon.
Bob Condotta: bcondotta@seattletimes.com. Bob Condotta is a sports reporter at The Seattle Times who primarily covers the Seahawks but also dabbles in other sports. He has worked at The Times since 2002, reporting on University of Washington Husky football and basketball for his first 10 years at the paper before switching to the Seahawks in 2013.